Author Topic: Peter Marshall, Comic Actor (Read 2138 times)

Fedya · « **on:** July 06, 2008, 03:18:17 PM »

On July 6 at 9:00 AM ET, Fox Movie Channel is airing the movie The Rookie. The Peter Marshall we know from The Hollywood Squares stars (billed, however, as "Pete Marshall") alongside Tommy Noonan in a comedy about two soldiers at the very end of World War II who get stranded on an island with a pair of Japanese soldiers (played in double roles by Marshall and Noonan) after a series of mishaps reminiscent of a movie like Buck Privates.

Although the film is billed as a comedy, humor is in the eye of the beholder. If you find it funny, you might just be the first person to do so. :-)

(Those older posters who know more about Marshall & Noonan are welcome to add to this. I have to admit that I know relatively little about Peter Marshall's acting career.)

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #1 on:** July 06, 2008, 03:43:35 PM »

[quote name=\'Fedya\' post=\'189889\' date=\'Jul 6 2008, 03:18 PM\'](Those older posters who know more about Marshall & Noonan are welcome to add to this. I have to admit that I know relatively little about Peter Marshall's acting career.)[/quote]
There's not a lot to know. Noonan & Marshall (that's right, Tommy got top billing) were a nightclub comedy team that had some small amount of success, including appearances on Ed Sullivan, while each continued to find work apart from the other. As a team, they were always in the shadow of much more famous acts like Martin & Lewis. They headlined one other feature together in 1961 (Swingin' Along) but that was about it as a duo. Noonan went on to do some other film acting, Marshall took to the stage (again with marginal success), and then Squares came along.

Trivia: Noonan's brother was married to Marshall's sister.

OBGameShow (and not Peter!): Tommy Noonan was a semi-regular on Mike Stokey's Stump the Stars.

The Ol' Guy · « **Reply #2 on:** July 06, 2008, 09:30:51 PM »

Back when CBN Cable aired public domain movies all night, I remember seeing one called FBI Girl starring Cesar Romero which had in the credits "and introducing the team of Noonan and Marshall". Either that scene was clipped or it wasn't on longer than a bathroom break, as I don't remember catching it. The IMDB has the pair listed in two other movies before this 1951 clunker.

colonial · « **Reply #3 on:** July 06, 2008, 09:49:21 PM »

Marshall also appeared as Bert the radio host in the big-screen version of the musical "Annie" in 1982.

I saw said film with my family when it was in theatres (believe it was a birthday gift for my sister). After the film, my parents asked my sister and I what we liked about the film. After sis went through a laundry list of things she liked, I was asked again what I liked about the movie.

I said "when the Squares host showed up". Kind of pathetic that a Peter Marshall cameo was the highlight of the movie, but "Annie" was quite the bore on the big screen.

JD

Jay Temple · « **Reply #4 on:** July 06, 2008, 10:08:00 PM »

I've seen him act twice, first playing a game show host on "To Live and Die on T.V.", an episode of Sledge Hammer!, and then in a touring production of La Cage aux Folles.

tpirfan28 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 07, 2008, 08:29:42 AM »

[quote name=\'colonial\' post=\'189940\' date=\'Jul 6 2008, 09:49 PM\']
Marshall also appeared as Bert the radio host in the big-screen version of the musical "Annie" in 1982. [/quote]
My sis has a copy of that movie...maybe I can rip a small clip.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #6 on:** July 07, 2008, 08:50:41 AM »

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'189972\' date=\'Jul 7 2008, 08:29 AM\']
[quote name=\'colonial\' post=\'189940\' date=\'Jul 6 2008, 09:49 PM\']
Marshall also appeared as Bert the radio host in the big-screen version of the musical "Annie" in 1982. [/quote]
My sis has a copy of that movie...maybe I can rip a small clip.[/quote]
That's all it would be. The role was a small one.

davemackey · « **Reply #7 on:** July 07, 2008, 09:18:05 AM »

[quote name=\'colonial\' post=\'189940\' date=\'Jul 6 2008, 09:49 PM\']
Marshall also appeared as Bert the radio host in the big-screen version of the musical "Annie" in 1982.

I saw said film with my family when it was in theatres (believe it was a birthday gift for my sister). After the film, my parents asked my sister and I what we liked about the film. After sis went through a laundry list of things she liked, I was asked again what I liked about the movie.

I said "when the Squares host showed up". Kind of pathetic that a Peter Marshall cameo was the highlight of the movie, but "Annie" was quite the bore on the big screen.
[/quote]
"Annie" was filmed in part on the campus of Monmouth University in New Jersey when I was a student there - the opulent Woodrow Wilson Hall played the part of the Warbucks mansion. It played havoc with classes there as many classes and offices needed to be temporarily relocated during the shooting. I attended a screening with most of the Monmouth U. community and when the Warbucks mansion first appeared, there was a big round of applause. That, for us, was the highlight. We weren't allowed near the filming, so I never got to see John Huston or Aileen Quinn or even Sandy.

MrBuddwing · « **Reply #8 on:** July 07, 2008, 05:15:37 PM »

Well, as long as we're strolling down Peter Marshall memory lane ...

I remember seeing him in a syndicated rerun of "The Millionaire." I don't remember what his character did, but he was married to a predictably pretty wife, and they have financial problems. They have a predictably spunky young son who's the recipient of John Beresford Tipton's largesse. So when the kid proudly shows his parents his savings passbook (do they give those out anymore?), they're shocked to see the amount of $1,000,000. Worse, it's a passbook where customers write in the amounts themselves (really?), so they assume the kid made up the $1,000,000 deposit. After a fair amount of screaming and yelling and calming down, the parents decide the kid's heart was in the right place, and IIRC, the episode ends with Peter Marshall and wife telling the kid they'll go to the bank tomorrow and straighten things out, and the kid smiles because he knows that when they do, his parents will know the money's for real. Happy ending.

The other Marshall acting appearance I recall is a segment on "Love, American Style" in which he played the producer of some amateur variety TV show. He's on his honeymoon with his predictably gorgeous wife, and they're constantly being interrupted by would-be auditioners who keep crashing their hotel suite on various pretexts. The ending was something of a shocker.

tvwxman · « **Reply #9 on:** July 07, 2008, 05:39:26 PM »

[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' post=\'190044\' date=\'Jul 7 2008, 05:15 PM\']
The ending was something of a shocker.
[/quote]
He killed one of them?

/Cue the Cowsills.....Loooooove American Style!

MrBuddwing · « **Reply #10 on:** July 07, 2008, 06:20:24 PM »

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'190055\' date=\'Jul 7 2008, 05:39 PM\']
[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' post=\'190044\' date=\'Jul 7 2008, 05:15 PM\']
The ending was something of a shocker.
[/quote]
He killed one of them?
[/quote]

CAMOUFLAGED SPOILER: [color=\"#CCFFFF\"]After chasing everyone out, honeymooner Peter Marshall starts getting ready for the main event by starting to undress. He's halfway to his skivvies when suddenly he sees his wife at the piano, naked (back to the camera), playing and singing something called "Animal Crackers in My Soup." He freezes in shock, half-naked, jaw hanging, as he realizes his wife is just another would-be auditioner.[/color]